Pictureplane

Pictureplane is the stage name of Travis Egedy (born May 1, 1985), an American electronic musician, visual artist, and fashion designer based in Brooklyn, New York.^[1][2] Egedy, originally from Santa Fe, New Mexico, emerged in the Denver DIY music and art scene during the mid-2000s while studying painting at the Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design.^[3][2] There, he immersed himself in the warehouse culture of venues like Rhinoceropolis, blending influences from hip-hop, punk, and experimental electronic music to develop his signature sound.^[3] His music often navigates tensions between noise and melody, darkness and light, incorporating elements of witch house, industrial, gothic pop, and ambient electronica, as heard in tracks like "Goth Star."^[4][5] Pictureplane gained prominence with his debut album Dark Rift in 2009, released on the Lovepump United label, which showcased his noisy, scuzzy take on dance music and helped coin the "witch house" genre.^[4][2] Subsequent releases include Thee Physical (2011), exploring themes of sensuality and gender; Technomancer (2015) on Anticon; Degenerate (2018); Dopamine (2021) on 100% Electronica, the latter reflecting personal struggles during the COVID-19 pandemic; and Sex Distortion (2025).^[2][5][6] He has toured with artists such as Crystal Castles, HEALTH, and Major Lazer, and collaborated with figures like Grimes and Lil B.^[2] Beyond music, Egedy's visual art has been exhibited in galleries across the United States and Europe, often delving into worldbuilding, emotion, and alternate realities.^[5][2] He also designs clothing through his Alien Body label, drawing on symbology, occult themes, and critiques of societal decay.^[2]

Early life and education

Childhood and musical influences

Travis James Egedy, known professionally as Pictureplane, was born in 1985 in Santa Fe, New Mexico.^[7] Raised in the culturally eclectic environment of northern New Mexico, Egedy grew up immersed in a blend of new-age influences and underground music scenes, with his older brother Zach playing a pivotal role in introducing him to hip-hop during his early teens.^[3] By seventh grade in 1999, he had discovered seminal underground rap albums like Company Flow's Funcrusher Plus, which he famously "borrowed" from a friend's older brother, sparking a preference for non-mainstream, experimental sounds over commercial rap.^[3] This exposure extended to acts from labels like Def Jux and Anticon, often accessed via Napster, alongside broader interests in screamo, emo, and DIY punk, shaping his eclectic taste amid Santa Fe's hippie-infused, UFO-lore-rich backdrop.^[8] Egedy's transition from listener to creator began in high school, where he immersed himself in hip-hop culture, including breakdancing in eighth grade and forming a rap collective with friends.^[8] At age 16 in 2001, he taught himself music production using Magix Music Maker 7 Deluxe software, crafting initial hip-hop-inspired tracks characterized by abstract, emotionally charged beats.^[3] These early efforts culminated in the formation of the group Thinking in Circles, for which Egedy handled all production; their performances at Santa Fe's all-ages venue Warehouse 21 featured "socially conscious, abstract, emotional teenage rap" with lyrics touching on personal themes like relationships, pyramids, and extraterrestrials.^[3] What started as casual experimentation evolved into active creation through these DIY spaces, where Egedy encountered like-minded teens experimenting with underground sounds far from mainstream trends.^[8] This formative period also nurtured an early interest in visual arts, evident in his later contributions to immersive installations, which paralleled his budding musical explorations.^[8]

Move to Denver and art school

In the mid-2000s, Travis Egedy, known artistically as Pictureplane, relocated from his hometown of Santa Fe, New Mexico, to Denver, Colorado, to pursue higher education in the arts.^[9][10] At age 18, shortly after high school, he enrolled at the Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design (RMCAD), where he sought to develop his longstanding passion for visual expression.^[10][3] At RMCAD, Egedy pursued a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degree with a focus on painting, studying under influential faculty such as Clark Richert and engaging with coursework that emphasized visual arts techniques, design principles, and philosophical underpinnings of creativity.^[3][2] This formal training honed his skills in traditional and experimental visual media, laying the groundwork for an interdisciplinary approach that later integrated graphic design and multimedia elements into his broader artistic practice.^[10][3] During his studies, he began exploring the intersections of visual design and sound experimentation, drawing from his earlier hip-hop influences to experiment with noise and avant-garde forms in informal settings.^[3] Egedy's time in Denver immersed him in the city's burgeoning DIY music and art scene, where he connected with local creatives and contributed to communal spaces that encouraged boundary-pushing collaboration.^[11] In 2005, he attended the inaugural event at Rhinoceropolis, a pivotal warehouse collective that became a hub for experimental artists, and by 2006, he had moved into the space, living there for six years until 2012.^[3][12] At Rhinoceropolis, Egedy collaborated with fellow residents and performers, including painter and musician Neil Ewing of Greencarpetedstairs, fostering early partnerships that blended visual installations, live performances, and shared curatorial efforts like annual drawing exhibitions.^[3][11] This environment amplified his interdisciplinary interests, allowing him to prototype hybrid works that merged his art school-honed design sensibilities with the raw, communal energy of Denver's underground creative community.^[3][12]

Musical career

Formation of Pictureplane and witch house origins (2004–2010)

Travis Egedy, an electronic musician from Denver, Colorado, adopted the stage name Pictureplane in 2004 to explore experimental visual and sonic landscapes, influenced by his background in art school where multimedia elements informed his creative approach.^[2] He began self-releasing music that year, crafting homemade noise-pop tracks through DIY production methods in a home studio setup that emphasized lo-fi aesthetics and raw experimentation.^[13] Early releases under the Pictureplane moniker included the 2004 self-titled effort, Covered in Blood, Surrounded by Text (2005), Slit Red Bird Throat (2007), and Turquoise Trail (2009), all distributed independently via digital platforms and limited physical copies. These works featured distorted synths, noisy textures, and thematic explorations of decay and futurism, produced using basic recording gear to capture an intimate, unpolished sound. In 2008, Pictureplane contributed remixes to HEALTH's Disco album on the Lovepump United label, including a reworking of "Lost Time," which introduced his production style to a wider audience while highlighting his growing ties to the experimental electronic scene.^[14] A 2013 compilation, Rare & Bloody 2004-2007, later archived these formative tracks, such as "Blood All Over My Hands Again," "Colors Melt Poppy Seedlings," and "Billboard Silkscreens," underscoring the DIY ethos of his initial output.^[15] Pictureplane immersed himself in Denver's underground DIY community, regularly participating in events at the Rhinoceropolis warehouse venue, a hub for experimental and noise acts. His performances there, including a 2009 tour kickoff and CD release show featuring extended sets of immersive electronic soundscapes, fostered connections with like-minded artists such as the Chicago-based group Salem, whose drag-influenced, slowed-down beats aligned with emerging genre boundaries.^[16][17] Around 2009, Pictureplane, alongside producer Shams (Jonathan Coward), coined the term "witch house" as an inside joke to describe their occult-tinged electronic music, blending chopped-and-screwed hip-hop techniques—characterized by slowed tempos and pitch-shifted vocals—with abrasive noise elements and mystical, gothic visuals.^[18][19] Tracks like Pictureplane's "Goth Star" embodied this fusion, incorporating eerie samples, heavy bass, and references to supernatural themes, which quickly resonated beyond Denver. Specific 2009–2010 mixtapes and digital shares from this era, distributed through blogs and online forums, served as key entry points for broader recognition, linking Pictureplane's work to the nascent witch house movement and attracting attention from international listeners.^[18]

Breakthrough with Dark Rift and relocation to Brooklyn (2011–2015)

In 2011, Pictureplane released his second studio album, Thee Physical, on the Lovepump United label, marking a significant step forward from his 2009 debut Dark Rift and solidifying his presence in the electronic music scene with its exploration of human touch amid digital alienation.^[20] Produced by Travis Egedy and co-mixed by Jupiter Keyes of HEALTH, the album featured tracks like "Real Is a Feeling" and "Techno Fetish," blending synth-pop and electro elements with themes of technological eroticism and body modification. This release garnered critical attention for its polished production and departure from lo-fi witch house origins, while briefly nodding to those roots through hazy, atmospheric synth layers.^[21] Following the album's launch, Pictureplane toured extensively in 2011, performing over 70 shows across North America and Europe, which boosted his visibility through high-energy live sets emphasizing visual projections and DIY aesthetics.^[22] In 2012, Egedy relocated from Denver to Brooklyn, New York, seeking broader creative opportunities within the city's vibrant electronic and punk scenes, a move that facilitated partnerships and immersed him in a network of like-minded artists.^[5] This relocation coincided with increased exposure, including tours alongside Crystal Castles and Major Lazer, as well as festival appearances such as Electric Forest, where his performances highlighted a fusion of rave energy and experimental soundscapes. That year also saw the release of the remix EP Dimensional Rip 7, featuring reinterpretations of Thee Physical tracks by artists like Grimes, Tearist, and Extreme Animals, underscoring collaborative efforts that expanded his sonic palette. In 2018, he supported the Snowblood Tour, opening for Alice Glass and Zola Jesus across North America. By 2015, Pictureplane signed with the independent label Anticon, releasing Technomancer on October 30, which represented a notable evolution in production toward denser, dystopian sound design influenced by technology and occult themes rather than earlier witch house haziness.^[23] Tracks such as "Sick Machine" and "Esoterrorist" incorporated darkwave beats, industrial percussion, and soaring synths to evoke man-versus-machine anxieties, with Egedy handling production to create a more cinematic, high-concept narrative.^[24] The album's release was promoted through North American tours and a thematic music video for the title track, emphasizing visual storytelling that aligned with his multidisciplinary background, further cementing his transition to wider audiences during this period.^[25]

Independent label era and stylistic evolution (2016–2025)

Following the release of his 2015 album Technomancer on Anticon, Pictureplane, born Travis Egedy, transitioned to greater independence by founding his own record label, Alien Body Music, in 2018.^[26] This move allowed for direct oversight of his creative output, with Degenerate serving as the label's inaugural release on September 18, 2018.^[27] The album, self-produced by Egedy and limited to 500 purple and red vinyl pressings, explored motifs of neon psychedelia, techno-mysticism, cyberpunk, and the macabre across 12 tracks.^[28][8] In 2021, Egedy released Dopamine on July 9 via 100% Electronica, marking a shift toward more polished synthpop and futurepop elements while retaining cyberpunk undertones.^[29] Self-produced and composed entirely by Egedy, the 11-track album featured collaborations with artists including Wicca Phase Springs Eternal and Yawns on "Black Chardonnay," alongside standout singles like "Aerial Black."^[30] Egedy's output continued with singles, including the 2022 release "Burning Chrome" featuring Yawns via 100% Electronica, distributed digitally via platforms like Spotify and Bandcamp for broader accessibility.^[31] In 2024, he issued "Gentleness" featuring PROMISELAND, emphasizing evolving electronic textures.^[32] His stylistic progression incorporated denser sampling and dance-oriented rhythms, blending romance-infused motifs with shadowy electronic atmospheres, as evident in self-releases that prioritized Bandcamp for direct fan engagement and vinyl/cassette preorders.^[33][34] Culminating this era, Sex Distortion arrived on October 31, 2025, via Music Website, comprising 13 tracks that further refined Egedy's fusion of synth-driven dance and introspective themes.^[6] The album included singles such as "Weeping Sky," accompanied by an official music video, "Heaven is a State of Mind," and "Velvet Lies (Metallic Garden)," highlighting ongoing collaborations and digital-first promotion strategies.^[35]

Artistic style and influences

Musical themes and production techniques

Pictureplane's music recurrently explores themes of gender fluidity and identity, often intertwining them with explorations of sensuality and the body as sites of transformation. In albums like Thee Physical (2011), these motifs manifest through lyrics and sonic textures that evoke a "dark sex" aesthetic, challenging binary notions of gender while celebrating fluidity as a form of liberation and ambiguity.^[36] Similarly, the duality of agony and ecstasy permeates his work, portraying emotional extremes as intertwined forces—painful longing juxtaposed with euphoric release—rooted in personal and cultural tensions around desire and vulnerability. Occult imagery further enriches this landscape, drawing on techno-mysticism and cyberpunk elements to symbolize hidden spiritual dimensions within modern existence, as seen in tracks that blend ritualistic atmospheres with futuristic alienation. Hyperreality emerges as a core concept, blurring the lines between authentic experience and simulated worlds, particularly in how technology mediates human connection and self-perception. For instance, in "Goth Star" from Dark Rift (2009), a sampled and recontextualized vocal from Fleetwood Mac's "Seven Wonders" evokes nostalgia and emotional intimacy amid a vast, echoing distance, creating a hyperreal fusion of past pop innocence with gothic longing.^[37] His production techniques emphasize lo-fi experimentation, heavily relying on samplers and synthesizers to construct dense, layered soundscapes that merge noise with melodic hooks. Early works utilized accessible software like Magix for bedroom production, evolving to modern digital audio workstations (DAWs) such as Ableton, which allow for intricate manipulation of electronic sounds and samples into poignant, weaponized compositions. Chopped-and-screwed effects—pitching down vocals and slowing tempos to induce a disorienting, dreamlike haze—are signature methods, infusing tracks with a hypnotic, otherworldly quality drawn from hip-hop and electronic traditions. This approach blends genres like synthpop, electroclash, and indietronica through distortion and layering: abrasive noise bursts collide with shimmering melodies, creating a push-pull dynamic that mirrors thematic tensions. In "Technomancer" (2015), vocal manipulations distort the human voice into ethereal, cyber-occult chants, layered over droning synths and sampled alarms to evoke a dystopian synergy of technology and mysticism, where agony-ecstatic transcendence is sonically amplified.^[36][38] Visual-audio synergy is integral to Pictureplane's process, with production choices often designed to complement multimedia elements like album artwork and videos, enhancing the immersive occult and hyperreal motifs. For example, the mirrored, claustrophobic visuals accompanying "Technomancer" reflect the track's distorted vocals and synth-driven propulsion, forging a multisensory experience of fractured identity and technological ecstasy. Noise elements—harsh, industrial tones—interrupt melodic flows to underscore agony, while synthpop-inflected hooks provide ecstatic release, as in the lurching groove of "Goth Star," where sampled diva vocals are chopped and echoed to balance intimacy with sonic vastness. This evolution from rudimentary sampling in early witch house-inspired works to polished DAW layering demonstrates a commitment to indietronica's DIY ethos, prioritizing emotional immediacy over technical perfection.^[38][37][36]

Impact on genres like witch house and synthpop

Pictureplane, under the moniker Travis Egedy, played a pivotal role in pioneering the witch house genre during 2009–2010, coining the term as a humorous descriptor for the slow, distorted electronic sound emerging from Denver's underground scene. This aesthetic, characterized by chopped-and-screwed samples, occult imagery, and haunted house-like atmospheres, quickly gained traction beyond local circles, influencing contemporaneous artists such as oOoOO and Balam Acab who adopted similar production techniques and thematic elements like ethereal vocals over dragging beats. Egedy's early releases, including the 2009 album Dark Rift, exemplified these traits, blending hip-hop influences with gothic electronics in a way that defined the genre's DIY ethos and helped propel it into national recognition as a micro-movement within experimental electronic music.^[18][39][19] His contributions extended to revitalizing synthpop and electroclash in the early 2010s, where Dark Rift served as a bridge from niche underground experimentation to broader indie appeal through its fusion of buzzing analog synths, androgynous melodies, and nostalgic '80s-inspired hooks. Tracks like "Goth Star" captured an electroclash revival spirit, echoing the raw energy of Fischerspooner or Ladytron while infusing it with psychedelic distortion, which resonated in indie circles and earned placements in year-end lists for their innovative take on dance-pop revivalism. This album's reception highlighted Pictureplane's ability to elevate subcultural sounds toward mainstream indie electronic, influencing subsequent acts in blending retro synth aesthetics with contemporary club textures.^[40][41][42] Pictureplane's advocacy for DIY spaces further amplified his genre impact, particularly through his involvement with Rhinoceropolis, the Denver warehouse venue where he resided and organized shows from the mid-2000s onward, fostering a hub for experimental electronic acts and putting the city's scene on the map for touring artists. After relocating to Brooklyn in 2011, this ethos carried over.^[43][44][45] In genre histories, Pictureplane is credited with formalizing witch house nomenclature, which has retrospectively shaped narratives around early 2010s electronic subcultures. His 2020s output, such as the 2021 album Dopamine with its cyberpunk aesthetic and the October 31, 2025, release Sex Distortion featuring darkly theatrical synthpop and darkwave elements built on Italo synths and creeping drum machines, continues to explore these motifs.^[46][47]

Other creative pursuits

Visual arts and collaborations

Pictureplane, whose real name is Travis Egedy, has extensively incorporated his visual arts background into his musical projects, creating psychedelic and glitch-infused designs for album covers and promotional materials. For his 2009 album Dark Rift, Egedy handled all artwork, producing a cover featuring distorted, ethereal imagery that complements the record's witch house aesthetic. Similarly, the artwork for his 2025 album Sex Distortion was designed by Egedy himself, emphasizing surreal, distorted visuals that evoke themes of altered reality and sensory overload. These self-produced elements draw from his training in Denver's art schools, where he developed skills in graphic design and mixed media. Egedy has also directed and co-directed music videos that extend his visual style into moving imagery, often blending surrealism with gender-fluid and hallucinatory motifs. In 2025, he co-directed the official video for "Weeping Sky" from Sex Distortion alongside filmmaker Chris Burden, depicting a psychedelic night out in a misty Manhattan haze with dreamlike sequences of transformation and emotional intensity. Earlier, for the 2024 track "Velvet Lies (Metallic Garden)," Egedy co-edited the video with Burden, incorporating glitch effects and metallic, otherworldly visuals to mirror the song's darkwave pulse. These videos highlight Egedy's role in shaping the narrative visuals for his music, prioritizing experimental editing and thematic depth over conventional storytelling. Beyond music-related visuals, Egedy has pursued standalone visual art through exhibitions influenced by digital glitch aesthetics and explorations of pop culture's constructed realities. His mixed-media works, including paintings, drawings, and digital collages, have been shown in galleries across New York, such as the 2010 exhibition "Reality Engineering" at Fitness Center for Arts and Tactics in Brooklyn, where he combined stock imagery, corporate logos, and personal motifs to critique mediated experiences. More recently, in 2024, Egedy presented "The Disease of Astonishment," a series of paintings in Manhattan that delved into astonishment and perceptual distortion through large-scale, process-intensive canvases. These pieces often ruminate on power, sex, and beauty in media, using glitch-like disruptions to challenge viewer perceptions. During his time in Denver's DIY scene, Egedy contributed to immersive visual installations at Rhinoceropolis, the warehouse collective he cohabited from 2004 to 2012, blending sound performances with projections and lighting rigs to create experimental environments. As a key figure in revolutionizing the local arts scene, he organized and participated in events that fused audio-visual elements, such as custom light setups for live sets that transformed the space into a dynamic, synesthetic installation. Collaborations in this era extended to joint projects with fellow artists, including graphic design work like a custom Magic: The Gathering deck created with Niko Alokin in 2016, which incorporated his visual expertise into interactive, themed artwork. These efforts underscore Egedy's interdisciplinary approach, bridging music, visuals, and community-driven creativity.

Fashion design and Alien Body brand

In 2013, Travis Egedy, known as Pictureplane, launched the Alien Body fashion brand in collaboration with the New York streetwear label Mishka, drawing inspiration from sci-fi aesthetics, occult symbolism, and explorations of gender fluidity within subcultures like cyberpunks and queer communities.^[48][49] The brand's designs emphasize unisex apparel, incorporating metallic fabrics for a futuristic sheen and motifs such as skulls and esoteric symbols to evoke themes of societal decay and the paranormal.^[49][50] Alien Body has presented its collections through pop-up shops in Brooklyn, including events at venues like Selva NYC, allowing direct engagement with local audiences in the city's creative scenes.^[51] Key pieces include heavy-duty work jackets with riot-inspired detailing and hooded long-sleeves featuring occult graphics, blending functionality with symbolic elements rooted in Egedy's visual art background.^[50] These designs extend to accessories like upcycled vintage jackets, each hand-screened for uniqueness.^[52] The brand integrates closely with Pictureplane's multimedia practice, producing tour merchandise and album-themed clothing lines, such as T-shirts and shorts tied to the 2018 release Degenerate, which feature provocative graphics like "Destroy all systems of control."^[48][53] Business operations are self-managed through synergies with the Alien Body Music label, enabling cross-promotion of fashion and releases without external distribution for greater creative autonomy.^[48] Collaborations with electronic scene designers, including early partnerships like Mishka and influences from brands such as Actual Pain, have supported its growth within DIY and underground fashion circles.^[48]

Discography

Studio albums

Pictureplane's studio albums span from early DIY CD-R releases to more polished electronic productions, reflecting an evolution from lo-fi witch house experimentation to synthpop-infused explorations of technology and emotion. Early lesser-known releases include the 2004 self-titled demo album, which served as an initial foray into electronic production.^[54] Slit Red Bird Throat (2005), another early CD-R, delved into darker, experimental electronic compositions; initially self-released in 2005, it was reissued digitally in 2007 with 13 tracks.^[55][56] Turquoise Trail followed in 2008, a self-released full-length with 16 tracks that blended synth and noise elements.^[57][58] The main studio albums are: Dark Rift (2009): Released on August 4, 2009, by Lovepump United Records, this 11-track album marked Pictureplane's breakthrough, fusing witch house with synthpop and featuring tracks like "Goth Star."^[59][60] Thee Physical (2011): Issued on July 19, 2011, by Lovepump United Records, the 10-track album shifted toward more physical, body-oriented electronic rhythms.^[61] Technomancer (2015): Released on October 30, 2015, by Anticon, this 11-track album explored themes of technology and psychedelia through dark electronic pop.^[24][62] Degenerate (2018): The 12-track album came out on September 18, 2018, via Alien Body Music, Pictureplane's own label, highlighting degenerate electronic sounds with tracks like "Pit Viper."^[33][63] Dopamine (2021): Released on July 9, 2021, by 100% Electronica, the 11-track LP delved into euphoric synthpop, marking a collaboration with label founder George Clanton.^[29][64] Sex Distortion (2025): Released on October 31, 2025, on Music Website, this 13-track album embraces sampladelic romance themes, blending love and distortion in raw synth arrangements.^[6][65]

Extended plays

Pictureplane's extended plays represent experimental forays that bridge his full-length albums, often featuring remixes or concise explorations of ongoing themes like hyperreality and physicality, providing transitional sonic experiments without the scope of studio releases.^[66] Dimensional Rip 7: Thee Physical Remixes, issued in 2012 as a self-released digital release, focused on remixes of the prior year's album of the same name, emphasizing physical sensation and dimensional concepts through contributions from artists like Grimes and Tearist; it includes 19 tracks such as "Post Physical (Tearist Invasion Remix)" and "Techno Fetish (Unicorn Kid Remix)," serving as a collaborative extension post-Dark Rift.^[67][68] In 2015, Hyper Real appeared on IHC 1nfinity as a two-track release with "Hyper Real" and "Total Confusion (feat. Antwon)," later expanded with a remix EP featuring versions by DARK0 and Knife City, exploring futuristic synthpop motifs that connected to Technomancer.^[69][70] Avalanche, part of the 2021 Aerial Black EP on 100% Electronica, comprised four tracks—"Aerial Black," "Blade Addict (Crimson Mist)," "Avalanche," and "Underwater Panther (feat. fish narc)"—acting as a preview to the Dopamine album with intensified electronic textures and thematic continuity in emotional distortion.^[71]

Singles

Pictureplane's singles discography reflects his evolution from underground electronic experimentation to more polished synth-driven tracks, with many serving as lead-ins to album cycles while achieving notable streaming presence on platforms like Spotify and Bandcamp. Early releases emphasized lo-fi aesthetics and gained cult followings in DIY scenes, while later ones, particularly post-2020, incorporated broader pop elements and visual accompaniments, amassing millions of streams collectively. The following table enumerates key standalone singles in chronological order, including release dates, labels, B-sides where applicable, and notes on videos or remixes: Additional singles from 2016–2025 include "Hyper Paradise" (2016, self-released with Balam Acab remix), "Degenerate" (2018, Alien Body Music, video-directed), "Night Falls" (2025, EP single with metallic remix), "Nancy Downs" (2025, promotional track), "Velvet Lies (Metallic Garden)" (2025, B-side remix included), and "Gentleness" (2025, featuring PROMISELAND, Liam Gordon remix). These tracks highlight Pictureplane's consistent output, often self-produced and distributed via Bandcamp, contributing to his enduring influence in electronic subgenres without major label backing.

Mixtapes

Pictureplane's mixtapes represent a key aspect of his early DIY ethos, emerging from the Denver underground scene where free digital releases fostered direct fan engagement and experimentation beyond commercial constraints. Thee Negative Slave Mixtape, released on April 8, 2011, as a free digital download via SoundCloud, served as an anthology of witch house-inspired tracks, blending Pictureplane's original productions with remixes to showcase the genre's hazy, occult-tinged aesthetic.^[77][78] The nine-track collection highlights include "Cyber Climax" and "Closer Now" by Pictureplane, alongside his remix of Becoming Real's "Closer (Pictureplane's No Body Remix)," emphasizing slowed-down synths, chopped samples, and ethereal vocals that captured the witch house movement's core sound.^[77] This mixtape, clocking in at 34 minutes, was distributed non-commercially to build hype around Pictureplane's evolving style without formal label involvement.^[79] In 2014, Pictureplane released The Alien Body Mixtape on May 1 via Bandcamp as a free digital download, functioning as a curated compilation that explored themes of alienation and glitchy futurism through collaborative and experimental cuts.^[80] The seven-track set features highlights such as "Pleasure Garden," "Fog Dialogue," and "The Helen Keller of Dead Cops" featuring Sole, alongside a remix of "Skin Town '2 Nite'" and closing with "The Glitch," which incorporates distorted electronics and guest spots from Doseone and Noah23 to delve into psychedelic hip-hop and darkwave intersections.^[80][26] Running 22 minutes, it underscored Pictureplane's shift toward multimedia integration, tying into his Alien Body fashion brand while offering fans accessible entry points to his broader creative output.^[80] No major mixtape releases from Pictureplane appear in the 2020s, though he continued sharing live DJ mixes digitally, such as the 2023 "Dungeon Trance" set recorded in Brooklyn.^[81]

Critical reception and legacy

Reviews of key albums

Pictureplane's debut album Dark Rift (2009) received positive critical attention for its innovative fusion of witch house elements with nostalgic dance pop and punk DIY aesthetics. Pitchfork awarded it a 7.3 out of 10, praising its sound-melding capabilities that pushed beyond mere nostalgia into more affecting territory, particularly highlighting tracks like "Goth Star" and "Gang Signs" for their languid, contemporary groove that allowed clipped vocals and delayed synth loops to nurture rather than stifle the rhythm.^[82] The follow-up Thee Physical (2011) built on this foundation, earning a 7.0 from Pitchfork for refining the blasted-electro approach of Dark Rift into more accessible pop structures while exploring themes of technological eroticism and human touch. Collaborations with HEALTH's Jupiter Keyes added sonic immediacy, balancing industrial aggression with sensuality in tracks like "Real Is a Feeling" and "Post Physical," marking an evolution toward broader electronic appeal.^[20] Technomancer (2015) represented a shift toward slower, ethereal synths and downtempo vibes, eliciting mixed responses. Pitchfork gave it a 5.9, critiquing the album's tamer energy and pedestrian techno elements compared to prior works, though acknowledging its strong production and dystopian man-vs.-machine concept. In contrast, PopMatters rated it 7 out of 10, lauding its anarchic, genre-blending experimentation—from industrial and rave-pop to deep house—in tracks like "Esoterrorist," describing it as a riotous, fun, and socially conscious effort.^[23][83] Degenerate (2018), a self-released effort on Pictureplane's Alien Body label, received limited mainstream coverage but garnered positive user acclaim for its electro-industrial and futurepop directions, with an average rating of 3.3 out of 5 on Rate Your Music, noted for its perversely sexy synthpop excursion.^[84] Dopamine (2021), released on 100% Electronica, explored personal struggles during the COVID-19 pandemic through a mix of synthpop and darkwave, earning praise for its emotional depth and production. Flood Magazine highlighted its vulnerability and sonic evolution, calling it a "beautiful yet heavy" return to form that blends wild strains of electronic music with introspective themes.^[46] The 2025 release Sex Distortion has been well-received in early reviews for its darkwave interpretations and exploration of romance in shadowy contexts. Treble praised its entertaining blend of ethereal synths, syncopated beats, and relatable songwriting on tracks like "Night Falls" and "Bitter Blossom," which use metaphors of pain and passion to convey gothic romance, positioning it as groovy and accessible synth-pop.^[85] Overall, critical reception to Pictureplane's albums reflects an evolution from niche praise for witch house innovation in the late 2000s to mixed reactions on the 2015 techno pivot, culminating in broader recognition within synthpop and darkwave scenes by the 2020s, with scores trending upward in recent user and indie evaluations.

Influence on electronic music and DIY scenes

Pictureplane played a pivotal role in popularizing witch house as a global phenomenon during the late 2000s and 2010s, coining the term alongside Jonathan Coward of Shams in 2009 as an in-joke to describe their dark, distorted electronic sound blending chopped-and-screwed hip-hop influences with occult aesthetics. This label, first mentioned by Pictureplane (Travis Egedy) in a Pitchfork guest list for the best of 2009, quickly snowballed into a recognized microgenre, inspiring bedroom producers worldwide to experiment with lo-fi synths, slowed tempos, and surreal visuals. The movement's reach extended to 2010s labels like Tri Angle Records, which amplified similar acts, and festivals such as Noise Pop, where Pictureplane performed alongside contemporaries, fostering cross-pollination with chillwave and experimental electronic scenes.^{[41][18][19][86][87]} In the DIY electronic scene, Pictureplane's residency at Denver's Rhinoceropolis warehouse from 2006 to 2012 exemplified a raw, communal model that influenced subsequent Brooklyn collectives and underground venues. This artist-run space hosted early witch house shows, including Pictureplane's collaborations with acts like Modern Witch, and served as a hub for idea-sharing among emerging producers, where Egedy emphasized unfiltered artistic development over commercial constraints. Rhinoceropolis's legacy as a fire-code-defying haven for noise, hip-hop, and pop experimentation inspired similar DIY operations in cities like New York, promoting mentorship through informal networks rather than formal structures, and enabling artists to transition from local scenes to international tours. Key albums like Dark Rift (2009) acted as sonic vehicles for this ethos, distributing DIY principles via accessible digital releases.^[18][12] Pictureplane's broader impact extended to electronic fashion crossovers, co-founding the Alien Body brand in Brooklyn, which merges occult-inspired streetwear with music production themes drawn from nightlife and hyperreal aesthetics. His 2021 album Dopamine, released on 100% Electronica, highlighted this fusion, influencing 2020s artists in post-witch house synthpop by blending sensory distortion with visual identity, as seen in echoes within hyperpop acts exploring similar blurred realities. Culturally, Pictureplane receives credits in indie electronic histories, such as Red Bull Music Academy's 2019 retrospective on witch house's mainstream infiltration and Stereogum's 2020 analysis of the genre's decade-long evolution, underscoring his foundational contributions up to the mid-2020s.^{[46][88][19][86]}